Very strong westerly winds with some showers.
The first bird I saw in Øygarden in 2020 was rather fittingly a White-tailed Eagle havørn flying over the road as I drove over the bridge at Toftøy.
I returned home in the early afternoon and the first bird I saw from my terrace was a storm blown Kittiwake krykkje. Not often they come so close to my house!
After that I had a quick look around in combination with a trip to the shops. Disturbingly a dead Whooper Swan sangsvane lay under the power lines that cross the nature reserve at Tjeldstø - it was being fed on by an adult White-tailed Eagle havørn and some Hooded Crows kråke. This dead swan was not there when I left just before New Year and it is not unreasonable to imagine that it was panicked on New Years eve and collided with the power lines in the dark.
Other species noted included a Peregrine vandrefalk flying over the shops, a Sparrowhawk spurvehauk and small numbers of Brambling bjørkefink.
The first bird I saw in Øygarden in 2020 was rather fittingly a White-tailed Eagle havørn flying over the road as I drove over the bridge at Toftøy.
2cy Kittiwake krykkje - photo taken from my terrace
I returned home in the early afternoon and the first bird I saw from my terrace was a storm blown Kittiwake krykkje. Not often they come so close to my house!
After that I had a quick look around in combination with a trip to the shops. Disturbingly a dead Whooper Swan sangsvane lay under the power lines that cross the nature reserve at Tjeldstø - it was being fed on by an adult White-tailed Eagle havørn and some Hooded Crows kråke. This dead swan was not there when I left just before New Year and it is not unreasonable to imagine that it was panicked on New Years eve and collided with the power lines in the dark.
Other species noted included a Peregrine vandrefalk flying over the shops, a Sparrowhawk spurvehauk and small numbers of Brambling bjørkefink.
